Fastening device



Dec. 9, 1958 -w. A. BEDFORD, JR 3 FASTENING DEVICE Filed NOV. 25, 1954 IO I v lNvENToR'.

W\LLIAM A.BE.DF'ORDJR WW AT TOR NEY- ilnited States Patent FASTENINGDEVICE William A. Redford, In, North Scituate, Mass., assignor,

by mesne assignments, to United-Carr Fastener Corporation, Boston,Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application November 26, 1954, SerialNo. 471,317

' 1 Claim. (Cl. 206-65) This invention relates generally to fasteningdevices, and has particular reference to a fastening device for securingtogether a group of cylindrical containers of the type having aperipheral bead or rim at each end.

Certain foods and beverages marketed in cans are customarily sold ingroups of three, four, or six, and for convenience in handling arefrequently assembled into cardboard packages of various types. Suchpackages have been found to have a number of disadvantages, in that theyrequire complicated and expensive machinery for assembly of the canstherein, they conceal the labels on the containers, and the cardboard isweakened by moisture.

This latter difliculty frequently interferes with the proper operationof the attaching machinery, prohibits the use of wet coolers forchilling the packaged containers, and requires special precautionsduring transportation and storage to prevent damage by dampness andmoisture which would cause rupture of the containers during subsequenthandling.

Various types of metal clips have been proposed for this purpose, butsuch clips have also been found to have disadvantages, such as being tooexpensive, too diflicult to feed and attach by automatic machinery, ortoo difficult to remove by the purchaser.

The object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive fasteningdevice for securing together a group of containers which is readilyadapted to automatic feeding and attachment.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastening device forthe purpose described which is adapted to draw the cans tightly togetherduring assembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fastening device forthe purpose described which securely retains the cans in assembly yet isreadily removable by the purchaser.

Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious, and will, inpart, appear hereinafter.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a fastening device embodying the featuresof the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the fastening device of Fig. 1 assembledonto a group of cans in position for assembly;

Fig. 4 is a view in section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the assembly of Fig. 3 after completion ofthe attachment of the fastener to the cans;

Fig. 6 is a view in section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing, there is illustrated a fastening device 10,which is adapted for attachment onto a group of cans 12 to retain thecans in assembly.

The cans 12 are of the type which have a cylindrical body with aperipheral bead 14 at each end which extends radially and longitudinallyfrom the body.

The fastening device is preferably formed of a single piece of sheetmetal and comprises generally a central Patented Dec. 9, 1958cylindrical body portion 16, a peripheral rim 18 disposed at one end ofthe body, and a peripheral flange 20 disposed at the other end.

The body 16 has a predetermined diameter such that it will fit closelywithin the multi-cusped space between a desired number of cans disposeduniformly about a point with adjacent cans touching, and the rim 18extends outwardly from the lower end thereof to extend under theinnermost portion of the beads of the surrounding cans.

The flange 20 has a group of portions 22 which are uniformly spacedabout the periphery and extend radially to be disposed over theinnermost portion of the can bead. Each portion 22 is provided with atongue 24 which extends inwardly and downwardly, and the portion 26 ofthe flange to which the tongue is attached is inclined outwardly andupwardly.

The fastener is assembled onto a group of cans 12 by positioning thecontainers as illustrated in Fig. 3, with the beads spaced slightlyapart so that the distance between the beads of opposite cans is greaterthan the diameter across the rim 18. The fastener is then placed on thegroup of containers so that the cylindrical body 16 and the rim 18enters the space between the cans, and the flange 20 rests on the canbeads with the tongues 24 ex tending downwardly toward the inside of thecan beads.

To complete the attachment the portion 26 of the flange disposedradially of the tongues is deformed downwardly by a suitable tool (notshown) which moves the tongues 24 inwardly against the inside of the canbeads and draws the cans tightly together, so that the beads beartightly against the cylindrical body 16 and the rim 18 is seated underthe beads.

A similar fastener may be assembled in like manner on the other end ofthe group of cans 12 simultaneously with the attachment of the fastener10 or subsequent thereto.

Since certain obvious modifications may be made in the device withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention, it is intended that allmatter contained herein be interpreted in an illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

A fastening device and a group of cylindrical containers havingperipheral beads at the ends, said device being adapted for assemblyinto a multi-cusped space at the end of said group of containersuniformly spaced about a point, said device comprising a body portionwith a central aperture, said body having a flange for resting on thebeads of said cylindrical containers, means about the aperture extendingdownwardly from the body seating un der the can beads, said flangehaving a series of tongues formed thereon and arranged for engagementwith said beads on the sides opposite said means, the portion of theflange to which the tongues are joined bearing obliquely upward from theflange of said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS603,455 Pinney May 3, 1898 668,974 Buedingen Feb. 26, 1901 1,516,232Kratzer 2. Nov. 18, 1924 1,579,221 Lumbeck Apr. 6, 1926 1,985,505Kiellstrom Dec. 25, 1934 2,090,477 Graham Aug. 17, 1937 2,212,476Kielberg Aug. 20, 1940 2,240,944 Stelle May 6, 1941 2,285,801 BurnetJune 9, 1942 2,384,112 Meyer Sent. 4, 1945 2,637,475 Gialanella May 5,1953 2,646,911 Holmberg July 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 182.378 GreatBritain July 6, 1922

